Hope You Don't Get Famous
by Varmint
Summary: Shikaku and Kiba met when Kiba tackled him to the airport ground when he confused him for Shikamaru. And it was love at first sight for Kiba. Their relationship progressed and everything was happy... Until Kiba managed to get his first starring role in an indie film. Rare pair! Shikaku/Kiba once more! Modern AU!
1. Chapter 1

Pairings: (Eventual!) Shikaku/Kiba and some others I have not yet decided!

~..~..~

"Welcome back, Shika!"'

It was normal for Shikamaru to retract from him as soon as he managed to get his arms around his shoulders in his flying hug. But it was also normal for his good friend to stay upright and not allow the force with which Kiba jumped on him to knock him to the ground below.

He was caught completely off guard when the spiky haired male he jumped on proceeded to tumble to the floor, causing him to go along for the ride.

"Dad!"

 _That_ was Shikamaru's voice… But it didn't come from below him, as it should have.

Maybe he was going insane? Maybe all of the late nights had finally caught up to him and were crashing down on him to make him think things that weren't really happening were actually happening… Was the airport he was in real, then, if his mind was working against him? Was the solid, muscular, and extremely nice smelling body beneath him actually a body?

Akamaru's wet nose bumping into his neck made him feel like his ramblings might not have been completely correct.

With a groan, the young man pushed himself onto his hands and up and away from the man he'd jumped on.

"Geez, Shika, you're supposed to be used to my flying hugs. We trained for years… Just a couple a'months away from me and you lose your strength?" Kiba Inuzuka grumbled as he glared down at the broad back of the friend he had unwittingly tackled to the ground… Only to notice that it was much broader than Shikamaru's back.

Cocking his head to the side in slight confusion, the male moved his left hand off of the floor and onto the left side of his friend's back. He squeezed the skin tight, amazed at the muscle he felt beneath his palm. "Whoah, Shika, been workin' out?"

"Of course I haven't."

His hand froze as soon as he heard this.

Shikamaru's voice… did _not_ come from beneath him.

 _Fuck_.

"Now could you stop fondling my dad and get off of him?"

Kiba's blood ran cold immediately; the words sank into his conscious and understanding mind as if they were as heavy as lead.

 _Shit_.

 _Fucking shit._

 _Holy fucking shit._

His body refused to move, though. So he could only stare like a retarded dumbass at the (holy fuck, Shikamaru's dad had one nice body!) back below him. As he stared, though, he was able to connect the clothes beneath him to the fact that Shikamaru would never be caught dead in a pricey suit _unless_ his mother pressured him into wearing it for a super important and special activity that he couldn't weasel his way out of.

The fine tailored suit currently beneath him, being pushed into the dirty airport ground below, was clearly something that Shikamaru would never wear on a _flight_. And, as if that wasn't enough, it also felt so _nice_ to his touch that it must have been made out of some pretty pricey fabric… Which meant that this was _not_ the kind of suit that needed to be pushed into the ground.

"This must be Kiba."

 _Shit_.

Kiba found himself having to suppress the sudden shiver that threatened to make its way up his spine upon hearing Shikamaru's father's voice.

It was like velvet, sex, and cigarette smoke ( _high quality cigarettes_ , mind you) all wrapped into one. And that was hot as fuck.

Akamaru moved from Kiba to stand directly in front of the man's face. He decided to sniff at the man, which earned Kiba a handful of seconds to finally get his body in motion.

"I'm real sorry, Mr. Nara!" He rushed to both get off of Shikamaru's father and not accidentally trample him as he did so. "I thought you were Shikamaru!"

Once he was finally up, he turned around and looked at the friend he had confused. And he was met with an unamused glare that put all of Shikamaru's thoughts into quiet daggers that pierced Kiba's poor heart.

"You have the same hair…" He apologized lamely, only for Shikamaru's frown to deepen further.

"You tackled my father."

"But I always tackle you! If you'd been standing where you were supposed to have been-!"

"Kiba."

The short haired male shut his mouth, more than aware that when Shikamaru interrupted him, it meant that he _needed_ to quiet down.

"Just shut up."

A small squeak-like noise tried to leave his mouth. But Kiba was able to catch it and bury it deep into his throat before he allowed himself to continue digging himself into a deep hole of embarrassment he would never be able to climb out of.

With wide and somewhat fearful eyes, Kiba stared at Shikamaru's father stand up, dust himself off, and turn to them.

His breath caught in his throat as soon as he was finally graced with the face that was a much too perfect partner to the smoky voice that he'd heard coming from those thin lips.

Shikamaru was not a hard person to look at. If they had met in another life, Kiba was sure he would even call him handsome. But seeing how they had managed to meet in their childhood years and had just about grown up together, he would never in a million years be considered as someone 'hot' in Kiba's eyes.

Shikamaru's _father_ , though… Well… Damn…

The man's face had two diagonal scars on its right side. One was just above his eyebrow and ended a bit before his ear. The other, though, began on what seemed to be exactly his cheekbone and ran all the way down to his chin, seeming to disappear without a clear end.

He had a trimmed goatee resting on his chin, its color as dark as the rest of his hair. Said hair- as black as onyx- was pulled into Shikamaru's customary hairstyle, which Kiba had lovingly anointed 'Pineapple bob' when he had been only five years old and had held no true knowledge about hairstyles.

Standing side by side, their faces might be considered nearly identical… If not for the fact that Shikamaru's was clearly lacking scars, his eyes weren't nearly as narrowed and dark, and his lips didn't seem even close to being as kissable as his father's.

It took all of Kiba's willpower to not chance a glance at the rest of the man's body to continue finding differences between him and his son.

The only big difference he allowed himself to notice was that Shikamaru's father was also taller than him by a couple of inches that made _all_ the difference in the height department.

"Dad, this is that hyperactive, troublesome, annoying friend I was telling you about."

Kiba didn't try and stop the pained look he sent Shikamaru at being addressed in such a manner. He was immediately hit by betrayal at having his best friend from childhood betray him in front of someone so ho- _old_. Yes. Old. Not hot. Shikamaru's father could not be hot. He was Shikamaru's dad. And parents were a _no fly zone_ for any kind of romantic thoughts.

The man's dark eyes kept a smoldering intensity about them as they looked Kiba over, making him suddenly feel like a kid again- caught with his hand in the cookie jar when Yoshino had already scolded him and promised him dinner if he was patient for just a little bit longer.

"You _did_ say he was a character." The man muttered in a tone that was as husky as the hottest of Kiba's imaginary sexual scenarios… And he _really_ needed to get his mind out of this gutter if he ever wanted to be able to seem like a somewhat functioning member of society to the guy. "I'm Shikaku Nara. _Not_ my son."

Kiba thanked whoever was willing to listen to his pitiful gratitude when Shikaku didn't raise his hand to clasp his. Because he knew that if he tried to shake hands with the man, he'd make an even bigger fool of himself… And that was never as fun as Naruto made it seem.

"Uh… Hi…" Kiba cleared his throat as he lifted his right hand to scratch at the base of his neck; all the while he planted his left firmly on his hip. "Um… Sorry for tackling you… I _really_ thought you were Shikamaru."

One finely kept and much too amused eyebrow lifted and arched, making Shikaku's face shift into one of condescending amusement that Kiba had always hated on Shikamaru… But seemed unbelievably _right_ on his father's face.

"I was warned there would be dangers to meeting an Inuzuka for the first time. I just had no idea Inoichi's warnings could be so literal."

Ah… Inoichi Yamanaka… Kiba's favorite arch-nemesis parent… He had always been fun to mess around with.

A loose smirk found its way onto his lips as he allowed himself to sink into familiar territory. "Inoichi- 'keep your hands off my daughter or I'll murder you, dispose of the body, and cause your whole family to despair over your disappearance for the rest of their lives' Inoichi?"

"Do you know another?"

Warmth was beginning to fight its way onto his cheeks because of the lopsided smirk that melted on Shikaku's lips. And it would be much too embarrassing to blush _now_ rather than before when he'd noticed his great blunder of tackling his best friend's father… _That_ had been an appropriate time to blush. _Now was not._

Thankfully for him, a prude called Shikamaru called Shikaku's attention off of Kiba and towards him with a beautiful clearing of his throat.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, we should get on our way. Kiba, did you do everything I asked you?"

For a moment, Kiba allowed himself to remember what had been asked of him.

 _First of all, I need you to buy us some food so we can eat on the car ride. I also need you to drive us to the car renting agency so we can pick up the car my dad'll be using during the week. After that, we'll need you to take us to the hotel dad wants… We haven't booked anything because he's an OCD maniac that can't have too many things out of his control… Oh, and_ don't _bring that dog of yours with you. White fur does_ not _mix well with dark suits_.

"Yup!" Kiba answered pluckily with a small bounce, then snapped his fingers for Akamaru to walk towards him. The dog did so and sat beside him, pink tongue lolling as Shikamaru's face contorted in annoyance. "I brought Akamaru, just like you asked."

"Kiba…"

"And a freshly prepared homemade meal is waiting for you both at _Chez Inuzuka_ , seeing how I can't have you driving down these dangerous Floridian streets on an empty stomach."

"Kiba…" This time Shikamaru's voice took on a groan-like intonation, making the younger male's smile broaden enough to show off his unusually sharp canines.

" _And_ I booked you guys the best car your money could afford- without breaking the bank, obviously. Oh, and the hotel situation's been taken care of. Chez Inuzuka is more of a bed and breakfast kind of deal, but…" He shrugged now, thoroughly enjoying the murderous glint in his best friend's eyes. "You know, it works."

"Why am I your friend?" The beautifully pissed off pineapple bobbed male clipped out, all the while Kiba smiled proudly at him.

"Because I stole your juice box when we were kids, you tried to beat me up, and I took enough pity on you to keep you around."

He chanced one look at Shikaku now, believing himself to be calmed down enough after messing a bit with Shikamaru to face his father and not have any unnecessary and completely idiotic thoughts rear their ugly heads up on him… But he was wrong.

If no-emotion showing Shikaku was hot, then completely-amused-and-blatantly-smirking-at-his-son's-discomfort Shikaku was a freaking ghost pepper or something.

Further plans of egging Shikamaru on with more wrenches thrown into his plans were dashed from Kiba's mind as soon as his eyes connected with those hot orbs… He hadn't been smitten like this before… And it was freaking terrifying because this was _Shikamaru's father_. A huge no! On all accounts, unfortunately…

He forced himself to turn around and begin to move away before he managed to make a bigger fool of himself in front of the hot Nara.

Shikamaru was not the hot Nara… And, honestly, now Kiba felt kind of bad for him… He hadn't inherited any hot coolness from his father… Just an insufferable and always annoyed gene that undoubtedly belonged to his mother.

"Now!" He clapped his hands a bit harsher than he would have liked, but the stinging pain helped ground him… _a little bit_. "Let's get moving. You know ma gets terrifying when people aren't punctual. And when she gets angsty, she gets into fight with people that try and make her move the car."

Akamaru padded after him quickly enough, a faithful and amazing companion that had never let him down when Kiba had needed him most. And, after a couple of seconds, Kiba heard softer footfalls join his dog's own, letting him know that both Nara-males were following him.

That was good.

That was good... Right?

That _was_ totally good... ... ...

 _Holy fucking shit in the world- how in the fucking fuckety fuck was Shikaku Nara so fucking hot?!_

..~..~..

So, how about this rare pair, huh? It's slowly becoming one of my favorite pairings now.


	2. Chapter 2

Pairings: Shikaku/Kiba (Yes. It happens here.)

~..~..~

His mother and Shikaku hit it off immediately.

This was really good, seeing how it meant that Shikaku's attention was off of Kiba and wholly invested on someone else.

Akamaru, Kiba, and Shikamaru all piled into the back seats of Tsume Inuzuka's much too big, much too high tech (its inner system confused Kiba most of the time so his mother barely ever used it for those very reasons), and gas guzzling truck. Both Nara's luggage had been left in the back, strapped down tight to keep it from tumbling around and scratching the truck's bed. And Shikaku had been left to take the passenger chair, seeing how it had a special cover on it that had been placed over the chair by Tsume after Akamaru and Kiba had left to fetch the Nara's.

Shikamaru had made a point of wanting to keep his father's suit as pristine and dog hair-free as possible. So Kiba had delivered in the best, most infuriating way he could think of to piss Shikamaru off yet keep within the guidelines he'd been given.

"I hate you."

"You love me."

"I only keep you around because you offer entertainment."

"Oh, we can both agree on that, then. I keep you around for that too."

Banter with Shikamaru was good. It was normal.

Fawning over Shikamaru's father was not normal. And he was sure that none of his friends would approve of it. So it was not good.

But the guy was so hot it should have been illegal.

As they rode to their house, Kiba managed to make a point of picking on Shikamaru and trying to get information out of him just to be able to ignore the way Shikaku's deep tone wanted him to do things that were completely inappropriate when he was stuck inside a limited and somewhat tight space with both his childhood best friend and his mother.

Apparently, Shikamaru's time in Hollywood had done nothing at all to change him. Living his life nearer to the fast lanes of the rich and famous; living in the one place Kiba had always dreamt of living and thriving in; had not changed the lazy Nara at all. He'd kept the same boring routine he'd used for the better part of half of his life now and barely tried to do anything amazing. Not even an internship at his father's practice had made him try anything new.

"Yeah… I never thought I'd say this… But I can't wait to go back to university. Anything to get away from my dad."

"Watch that mouth, boy." Kiba's mother suddenly growled from the front seat, making Kiba roll his eyes. "You know how I feel about bad mouthing family in front of me."

"Which is the exact same way you feel about being slow and lazy; ma, we get it, Shikamaru's not your favorite friend of mine."

"Shut that trap before I shut it for you!"

Kiba laughed as Shikamaru huffed with a shake of his head. But he committed the biggest mistake in his life… He allowed his eyes to stray towards the passenger's side of the long chair… And he found Shikaku looking back at him and Shikamaru with this look of pure unadulterated, unbelievably adorable confusion that Kiba's heart stuttered.

Thankfully, his mother was around to nag him back into his senses.

"Why don't you go ahead and tell your guests the plans for today?" Then she turned to look at Shikaku for a moment, although she kept one eye on the road ahead of her… Kiba had never been able to understand how she had that talent. But, then again, she had raised him and Hana as a single mother while also doing her best to 'raise-but-not' Naruto… It must have been a supernatural talent she had been born with.

"My son decided to try his hand out as a tour guide with you two. Seeing how he's most probably going to do that job in the future when he finally realizes his dreams should stay as dreams, I thought it would be a good idea to allow him to drive you two around."

 _Oh, mom… I love you too… If only you weren't such a bitch whenever there were other people around._

Shikamaru and Kiba were already accustomed to Tsume's much too harsh way of expressing herself, so neither was actually bothered by her words. They both knew that she fully supported Kiba's dreams of going to tinsel town and actually try to act. But he really hoped that Shikaku didn't consider his mom a bitch because of her harsh words… She could be pretty tough, but she actually cared. Unfortunately, not many people were able to understand the unique characteristics that made up his mother's kind of, sometimes, pretty shitty personality.

"You won't be saying that when I refuse to buy you that house by the beach side you've always wanted after I strike it big!" Kiba smirked over at his mother, causing her to turn a mockingly annoyed glare towards him.

She only turned half of her face towards him, but that one eye was more than enough for Kiba to know that his mother knew better than to believe he would never buy her the dream home she'd always wanted after he actually had the money to get it for her.

"You're lucky you're my kid, brat."

"Love you too, ma!"

They weren't the most normal people when it came to expressing how much they loved and appreciated each other. But Kiba already knew the exact house he would buy his mother once he had the money for it. Just like he knew the perfect necklace he'd get for Hana. They weren't normal, yeah, but he loved his family. And he would never trade them for anything.

* * *

Hosting Shikaku Nara was about as easy as taking care of Akamaru. The guy was low maintenance, could eat just about anything, and didn't really care if things didn't go his way. So, in reality, Shikaku Nara was nothing like what his son had informed Kiba.

Eventually, Kiba would call Shikamaru out on the way he had been lied to. But until he had enough proof to shit on Shikamaru with, the young male would bide his time in wait. Soon enough, he would be able to strike Shikamaru where it hurt. Soon enough, he would be able to call him out on all the bull shit he had tried to feed Kiba.

Until then, though, he would lie in wait like a spring coiled and acquiring enough tension to be able to perform an amazingly breath taking jump of great proportions.

Still, having Shikaku around for the weeks he was supposed to be in Florida for his business was actually one of the most pleasant things Kiba faced in the summer.

Waking up every morning to see Shikaku Nara's smiling face was like a treat in and of itself. Especially on the mornings when he was able to wake up before Shikaku got dressed. Those were the best mornings because they were the mornings where he was met with the vast, beautiful, incredibly _built_ frame that composed Shikaku's body.

He wasn't completely certain, but he _thought_ that Shikaku must have known _something_ about his ogling. Because there was no way that one man could move so slow during the mornings. At least, not slow enough to allow his half-naked body to be seen by his son's best friend.

His house was a moderately sized yet comfortable abode that held four rooms, two bathrooms, and the standard living areas. The rooms were all in the back of the house, connected by a long hallway that opened up in its very middle to lead into a huge kitchen and the rest of the spacious house. It wasn't anywhere near as big as the houses that belonged to other friends, but Kiba knew that it was good enough for a family like his.

Whenever he left his room in the mornings to head into the kitchen, he found himself having to forcibly pass by Shikaku's room. So, when it was still pretty early and his door had not been closed, the young man was able to peek inside and see the beautiful man that was called Shikaku Nara.

Seriously. It should have been _outright illegal_ for someone to be so handsome.

"Hey, runt, what are your plans for today?"

Kiba was not allowed to look into Shikaku's life this morning. His sister accompanied him out of his room and into the kitchen, meaning that he had to show some semblance of respect to the man they were housing.

It took all of his self control to not snap at Hana and tell her to go back to his room so he could catch a bit of Shikaku skin before he had to properly begin his day.

As they passed by Shikaku's room- which was actually the normal guest room-, Kiba couldn't help but notice that the door was closed for the first time since the man had begun to stay with him and his family.

 _Shame_.

Shikaku skin could make Kiba's shittiest day become great.

"No idea." The young man murmured with a soft shrug of his shoulders, "There's an audition for a comedic extra downtown. I was thinking of forcing Shika to accompany me there."

Hana pursed her lips, undoubtedly still apprehensive over the career choice her little brother had decided on. But she didn't tell him that he would waste his time doing chasing after a childhood dream. Instead, she reminded him that tonight their mother wanted to force the Nara's into a proper family meal rather than the rushed ones they had been having for the past week.

"So you want me to drag Shika back here before dinner time?" Kiba asked to make sure he had understood her reason for telling him such a thing.

Hana nodded, walked towards the coffee maker, and began to prepare coffee for the household.

Kiba did his best to help by going straight for the refrigerator. He could help Hana by making breakfast. Or by at least pulling out the ingredients that would be necessary for her to make everyone's breakfast.

But, hey, Shikaku just walked out of the hallway right now. And he looked mighty fine wearing a simple pair of jeans and a dark button up shirt.

His teachers had always told him they would not have been surprised if he had a mild-to-sever case of ADHD…

"Good morning, Mr. Nara." Kiba smiled over at him, forgetting all about trying to be helpful as soon as the older man's breathtaking brown eyes connected with his own.

"Good morning, Kiba." The man's smile was breathtaking. Just like his eyes.

Holy shit, did he forget how to breathe?!

"You can call me Shikaku, you know." If the man noticed his sudden loss of all coordination in breathing or not, Kiba did _not_ want to know. "I'm free today. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do to pass the day?"

A stupid, amazing, retarded, _genius_ idea popped into Kiba's mind the second Shikaku asked him this.

"Well, I'm going downtown later today for an audition. If you'd like, you could come with and you could see some of the sights." As he spoke, Kiba could not help but question just how truly intelligent he was.

Shikaku Nara was Shikamaru Nara's father. Shikaku Nara being Shikamaru Nara's father meant that he was supposed to be off limits for Shikamaru Nara's best friend. And, seeing how Kiba Inuzuka was Shikamaru Nara's best friend, this meant that Shikaku Nara was supposed to be off limits for _him_.

But… Well… What could be the harm in Shikaku coming along to see the sights as Kiba waited for a proper audition for the small time television show?

"I thought you were going to force Shikamaru with you." Hana's voice suddenly sent a stab of _'Holy shit what have I done?_ ' through Kiba.

Luckily, he didn't have to answer.

"Inoichi sent word that Ino and Chouji would be coming around in an hour or so to pick Shikamaru up. Apparently, he forgot to inform them about his return to his home and they are eager to make him pay."

"Oh, Shika… Such a lazy boy…" Hana shook her head, shoved Kiba out of the way of the refrigerator's door, and smiled at Shikaku, "Is there anything specific you'd like for breakfast?"

"I'll eat anything."

… … … Kiba should _really_ get his mind out of the gutter…

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind showing me around?"

"Not at all!"

The answer had left him before his mind had even fully caught up with the question Shikaku had asked. But, seeing how the man smiled at him in such a way that made him forget how to breathe once again, Kiba guessed he had said the right thing.

* * *

His audition had gone about as well as it could have gone. The casting director had loved him, but the producer had not been as stoked about his skills as the man. So he had been told that, once they had reached a decision, they would call him.

Kiba wasn't the smartest person in the world. He knew that. But he was smart enough to know that receiving a phone call with good news from these people was nearly impossible.

This wasn't the first audition where he'd done his best but it had not been good enough. And, just like it wasn't his first, he knew it wouldn't be his last. Life was filled with ups and downs. No matter how many times he failed, he knew that eventually he'd be able to find success. He just needed to bide his time, hone his skills, and not lose hope.

After he had explained to Shikaku just what it was that he had been auditioning for- "little show from here; it's like _Law and Order_ with _Rawhide_ \- wait, you don't know _Rawhide_?; well, it's a show about cowboys… now that I think about it, just why are they filming a show about cowboys here?; it would make a lot more sense for it to be a show about criminal surfers…"-, they had gone over to a small outlet near where the auditions had been held.

Kiba had window shopped and regretted not having any actual cash. Shikaku had merely browsed and murmured random questions to keep the conversation alive between them.

Quite frankly, Kiba liked walking around with Shikaku. They didn't know each other, but that was pretty normal, seeing how they had only met about a week ago. But being together didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward. They both did their best to speak and learn about each other, and Kiba counted that as a victory in his book.

Shikaku must have liked him to _some_ degree to try and talk to him!

When lunchtime rolled around, they stopped in a restaurant. If it had been up to Kiba, they would have just hit the food court and he would have bought the cheapest daily special he could find. But Shikaku had insisted on eating properly and when Kiba had told him he didn't have much money, the man had offered to pay for him.

So now Kiba found himself in a quaint and rather calm restaurant, surrounded by the soft chatter of other patrons, the minute clanking of utensils in use, and the faint sizzling of the grill inside of the kitchen being used. He had allowed Shikaku to order everything, seeing how he really wasn't all that sure of exactly _what_ he should order when the man was paying for him. So now they were just waiting for the waiter to come back with their food.

"My son told me that you were a rather talkative and _unique_ individual."

Kiba's heart plummeted into his feet as soon as he heard this.

"But, I must say… I cannot find a reason as to why he would consider you annoying other than him being a rather melodramatic individual."

Shikaku's face was kind and soft, his smile so _open_ that Kiba couldn't help but smile back.

"Shikamaru _is_ pretty dramatic."

"That he is." Shikaku nodded, breathed in, and looked him directly in the eyes, "I won't beat around the bush, Kiba. I find you endearing. I know you're interested in me. Would you like to see where a relationship between us might go?"

The thought of _'This is Shikamaru's father! No! Stop! Abort mission! Put your hormones under con- Oi! Get that dick back in yo pants, this ain't right!'_ didn't come fast enough to stop him from jumping eagerly into a relationship with his best friend's father.

..~..~..

Please remember to review and tell me what you thought about this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Pairing(s): Shikaku/Kiba and (mentioned) Temari/Shikamaru

~..~..~

Quite frankly, Kiba felt like a complete love-struck fool for the first few days he and Shikaku spent together as an actual something rather than just two people that had a mutual connection in Shikamaru.

Neither of them was eager to make a big deal and cause drama in their lives. Shikaku was a down-low kind of guy and Kiba already had enough drama in his life because of all his friends and family that he didn't really need to create any more.

So, for the first couple of days after they had decided to actually try to create something with each other, they weren't obvious about anything. Whenever they were around others, they would act as if nothing had changed.

But when they were alone… Well, Kiba had never thought acting like a love-struck teenager could be any fun. But Shikaku just made him want to be the most lovable person in the world. So he would do everything in his power to cling onto the other man whenever there was no one around to judge them.

Shikaku didn't mind it. He wasn't the kind to cuddle back immediately and be extremely touchy-feely. _But_ he would always smile whenever Kiba hugged onto him and he would always throw an arm over his shoulders whenever they were near. So Kiba was sure that he enjoyed those moments together much more than he would every voice out loud.

During those first days together, Kiba learned a lot about Shikamaru's father.

First of all, he and Yoshino had gotten married extremely young. Their marriage had happened for two big reasons: they had been in love and Yoshino had gotten pregnant with Shikamaru. In his younger years, Shikaku had thought Yoshino would be the only person he would love in his life. So when they had received the news that they would be teenage parents, he had believed they would be the high school sweethearts that survived well into their golden years; only in death would they part.

But after three years of juggling Shikamaru, a heavy college load, an overbearing wife, extremely judgmental parents, and many more inconveniences, Shikaku and Yoshino had decided to divorce. Then, once he finished up his first handful of years of college, Shikaku moved out to California to finish the schooling he required to become a plastic surgeon.

The reason why Kiba had never met him before had been because Yoshino and he had come to an agreement before they actually divorced: Shikamaru would be Shikaku's during vacations and Yoshino's during school terms. As long as it wasn't absolutely necessary, neither of his parents actually wanted to make an effort and ever speak again.

Over years of loyal and consecutive work, Shikaku had managed to make himself a name as one of the top doctors in Silicon Valley. He focused mostly on reconstructive surgeries of botched patients, but he wasn't above helping anybody out if there were legitimate health concerns that came with their condition that could be improved through plastic surgery. He wasn't the guy to go to for purely cosmetic reasons. So, no, he had not been the man to give Tsunade her money makers.

He had come down to Florida to spend some more time with Shikamaru before he started college once again and to attend a convention of highly esteemed doctors that had been held in the state.

The week-long convention had ended, though, and now he was enjoying his time with his son… And his newest partner.

Kiba felt like an idiot whenever he thought about being anything to Shikaku other than just his son's best friend. His heart would flutter and the smile that wormed its way onto his face was one he could not shake. But he was something more than just Shikamaru's best friend… And that made him extremely happy.

"Like what you see?"

"If I say yes, will I get a prize?"

Shikaku was a smart one. He admitted that he'd noticed Kiba's infatuation with him from the very beginning. Knowing that Kiba was interested in him, he would leave the door into his bedroom open on most mornings so Kiba would be able to look in on him. And now that they were official, Kiba always found him shirtless, either lying in his bed while reading a book or standing up as he fetched his clothes.

(He would never admit that he waited for Kiba to wake up and walk around, though. He admitted that he left the door open. He just never wanted to say out loud that he posed himself in the most appealing ways possible for Kiba to find him when he left his door open.)

Right now Shikaku had his back turned to Kiba, deep inside of his room. He was facing his window, his pajama pants hanging low on his hips while the full expanse of his delectable back exposed and on display for Kiba to enjoy.

And enjoy he did… He had to admit, he wasn't completely dominated by his hormones. But, if ever there came a time when it was finally acceptable for him to rake his nails over that back and leave scratches, bite marks, and bruises while Shikaku's firm hands- whoah, down boy! Control those hormones! Weren't those supposed to have been controlled by now? He wasn't a teenager anymore.

Sure, he'd only just turned twenty recently… But his age was no longer in his teens! So, unfortunately, he had no excuses in his mind anymore.

"Maybe." Shikaku turned his head to the side just slightly, offering Kiba half a visible smirk.

Kiba shuffled at the entrance to the man's room, then chanced a glance down either side of the hallway he was in. People weren't usually walking around at this hour, so he didn't really have to worry… But, still, he didn't want to risk getting caught too early.

"Why don't you come in?"

Kiba didn't need any convincing. He just about jumped into Shikaku's room, closed the door behind him, and made his way to plaster himself right into the man's side.

Shikaku stifled a grunt when Kiba's arms wrapped around him, but didn't protest. He merely raised his own arm to wrap around his shoulders, patted Kiba softly on the head, and kept him tucked in tight.

A guy could get used to this.

"Have you thought about where you wish to go tonight?"

Kiba frowned, hissed softly, and closed his eyes in contempt. "Make time slow down. I refuse to believe that you have to go so soon."

The chuckle Shikaku made reverberated all through his body, causing Kiba to feel the vibrations directly. "I've already stalled for some time… I was supposed to have returned home days ago, but you convinced me to stay."

"I never _told_ you to stay."

"No, but I know that's what you wanted."

Kiba cocked his head slightly, peeking over Shikaku's chest, and smiled, "And you just live to make me happy, don't ya?"

"Would you like me for to me to make you unhappy?" The man questioned, one eyebrow raising in amusement. "Well, that would let me see how you react to being placed in a non-necessarily happy situation."

Kiba had to admit it: Shikaku Nara was his greatest catch.

Hot, generous, kind, _hot_ , understanding, smart... Had he mentioned hot? Because, seriously, it must have been illegal for someone to be as all-around perfect as this guy was. Aside from the hotness, there was a lot inside of him to love.

"Let's just keep me happy, yeah?"

"Alright."

They had not shared a kiss yet. The moments they had spent together hadn't really given Kiba the right _vibes_ to lean in and kiss the man. But with the way their relationship was going, he was pretty sure that they would be sharing that kiss _before_ Shikaku jetted off to return to his home.

It was nice to just remain standing there, cuddled up to Shikaku's side, as they stared out into the distance. It felt right.

* * *

Two days before Shikaku abandoned Kiba to return to his land of plastic surgery and fake attitudes, Shikamaru cornered him.

"You spend too much time with my father."

Kiba quirked an eyebrow at his best friend, but remained quiet.

Shikaku and he hadn't really spoken at all about going public with their relationship. They were still, in the man's words, within the 'honeymoon' phase of their relationship. Nothing they did could possibly bother the other and they were happy as long as they were able to steal moments away from those they were living inside of Kiba's home with.

Although, Kiba had to admit, this was the most serious he thought he had ever been about a relationship. All of his past flings had been enjoyable... But they had been nothing when compared to what Shikaku made him feel.

Would it be too soon to say that he wouldn't mind marrying this man?

 _Probably..._

Oh well, just another thought to keep to himself until he had spent more time with Shikaku.

"What are you planning with him?" Shikaku questioned, his eyes narrowed in that distrustful way they only adopted whenever he thought there was Kiba mischief afoot. "You've never been interested in any of our parents before."

Kiba wondered if he should say anything.

Then he shrugged softly and remained silent. Shikamaru would eventually reach whatever conclusions he wanted to arrive at, with or without Kiba's help. He may as well just step back and watch as his brain worked things out.

For the next hour, Kiba found himself seated on his kitchen's counter's chair, watching Shikamaru as he paced from his living room to the kitchen to the hallway that led into the rooms and back. It was pretty fun to watch him skulking like this: it was as if they were back in high school and Shikamaru was trying to think of a way to avoid that Temari girl that still chased after him.

"Please don't tell me..."

Kiba quirked an eyebrow when Shikamaru turned to stare at him with a fear filled look in his eyes.

It was at that point that Shikaku, Hana, and Tsume all returned from their outing to the nearby flea market. Shikaku had a small smile on his lips, his mother was outright laughing, and Hana was shaking her head in amusement.

Kiba did not miss the fact that the only one out of the three of them with a bag in his hands was Shikaku.

"Dad! You _cannot_ tell me this is right!"

Shikaku gave his son one exasperated look and asked, "Shikamaru, I'm not sure how long you've been brooding for, but I just got here. I don't know what you're raving about."

"I do _not_ brood!"

"No, Shika... That's precisely what you do when you get like this." Kiba informed him, "Kind of like Batman, but less hot and more nerdy-twiggy."

Shikamaru glared at him, but soon turned back to his father. "You've been spending a lot of time together with Kiba recently. You always find a way to go out with him... And you even changed the date you'd leave..."

"Maybe your father wanted to spend more time in Florida with his ungrateful son and that ungrateful son's friend's family." Kiba's mother offered with a mischievous glint in her eyes, stepping deeper into her home so she could head to the refrigerator.

"I don't want him here. He wouldn't stick around for me." Shikamaru muttered darkly, then sighed and looked at Kiba with a terrified look on his face. "Kiba... I know you have an interesting taste in people... But, please... You can't tell me you actually went this far."

"Depends on how far you're referring to, Shika."

Shikaku cleared his throat after Shikamaru groaned loudly.

"Well, I had been hoping to wait until tonight to make the announcement, but..." Now he made his way towards Kiba, raised the bag he had brought with him so Kiba would take it, and then wrapped an arm around his shoulders to look at the rest of the people in the house. "Kiba and I are indeed in a-"

"Nope."

Shikamaru moved so fast to leave the house that Kiba was actually taken aback.

He slammed the front door behind him, leaving the rest in the house silently staring after the door.

Kiba blinked at the door, then shrugged and pulled out the gift Shikaku had brought him.

He smiled broadly at the sight of the fang-toothed necklace.

"It's perfect!"

Shikaku smiled and ruffled his hair, and Kiba instinctively leaned into the touch.

"Is no one going to check up on Shikamaru?" Hana suddenly asked, making Kiba sigh and shake his head.

"Not at all. He just found out his best friend is dating his father. How would _you_ take that?"

Hana shook her head at him, "You're such a slut."

"I have high standards!"

Shikaku chuckled softly, but informed, "Shikamaru just needs some time alone right now. He's never been much of a people-person. It's better to let him work through things by himself."

Hana nodded at this, then Tsume called from the kitchen, "So, Shikaku... Let's have a small chat about how you decided it would be a good idea to hook up with my kid under my roof."

"Ma!"

"I won't kill him!"

Kiba just shook his head.

Well, at least now he was sure that they truly were an official couple.

"The necklace is beautiful."

"Reminded me of you." Shikaku offered, "I thought it would be a good gift."

It really was.

Shikaku was perfect.

..~..~..

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Quick A/N: This chapter and the following ones will be in Shikaku's POV! There is also a time skip of roughly six months.

Pairing(s): Shikaku/Kiba

~..~..~

"So, you're coming over?"

 _"Yup. I finally finished up with auditions and I'm free to go to your house and lounge around and never move ever again."_

A low, amused chuckle made its way out of his lips as Kiba began to tell him about the horrible day he had experienced. This was a rather novel experience- never before had he been able to have such a relaxed yet stupidly important conversation with a significant other before. It was nice, actually, to be able to talk about nothing important at all and still feel as if everything that was talked about meant the world to the both of them.

Shifting the phone in his hand so he could wedge it between his left shoulder and left ear, Shikaku picked up the pen he had left on his desk when Kiba's ringtone had broken his office's peace. He wasn't sure just why the younger male had insisted on it, but he couldn't argue against the ringtone he had chosen for himself. It was an almost perfect song to reflect Kiba's more eccentric side- _Guys my Age_.

When he had first heard the song, Shikaku had almost burst out laughing. Not because the song had been funny, no... He'd almost laughed because of how Kiba had described some of his less _favorable_ dating experiences... And, quite frankly, it did seem that guys his age had no idea how to truly treat him.

About three months into their relationship, Kiba had announced that Shikaku _did_ know how to treat him and that he didn't need any boys when he had a real man to keep a hold of. Shikaku had almost died of laughter that time; he hadn't been able to contain it even as Kiba whined with a genuinely hurt expression on his face.

 _"I'm not sure why I had to make the trip down to the studio if they were just going to tell me that they needed to see choose a leading lady before they chose the love interest's actor. Like, seriously! Why would they be so mean that they'd dangle a golden carrot in front of my face- making me hope that I'll be able to finally get a kind of important role in a TV show- only to tell me that I'll have to come back in a week so I can audition again?!"_

As Kiba whined, Shikaku jotted down some notes on the most recent botched patient he would be helping. He listened with half an ear but he knew that Kiba wouldn't mind. Right now Kiba wasn't looking for intelligent conversation, he was looking to be listened to as he ranted.

"Maybe they'll want to wheedle out the really bad auditions before they have anybody audition with the leading lady?" He murmured softly, glancing around his desk to try and find the preliminary notes he had made during his first assessment of the patient.

He couldn't find them. And he immediately knew why that was.

With a small frown, Shikaku stood up from his extremely comfortable chair and walked out of his spacious office to try and find his ungrateful son before he could wreak any more havoc on his poor office.

 _"That would make sense, hon... But I still resent it! Do you hear me? Resent!"_

"Yup. Resent. Got you." He murmured absent mindedly as he grabbed his phone once again to give his shoulder a rest. "Did you do okay, though?"

 _"Of course I did!"_ Okay, yeah, he was annoyed that his son was purposefully messing with his documents because he was still dating his best friend, but at least said son's best friend managed to brighten most of his worst moods by simply being himself. _"I got that 'rugged edge' down pat- I actually have been scolded dozens of times because of incorrect pronunciation of stuff."_

Shikaku knew this. Kiba had told him this about ten dozen times now. But he never reminded the younger male of this; instead, he allowed him to tell him anything and everything he was willing to tell him.

Rounding a corner, Shikaku found the little jerk he had been looking for leaning against a wall with a mug of undoubtedly lukewarm coffee in his hands.

As soon as their eyes met, Shikamaru smirked and offered his father a small nod.

"What do you need old man?"

If not for the fact that Shikamaru was a great mind with an impeccable work ethic, albeit childish inclinations, Shikaku would have fired him ages ago. But he was more than competent in his work... The only down side was that he would get irritating whenever Kiba was even mentioned. And now that he was staying with them while he auditioned for key roles in Tinsel Town... Well... Shikamaru was _even worse_.

"You know what I need."

 _"Oh, sorry... Hey, I know you..."_

Shikaku didn't pay any mind to the conversation Kiba was currently having in the studio he had gone to audition. Clearly he had bumped into someone and was busy dealing with that. Shikaku, while this happened, busied himself with glaring at his troublesome son.

"How's Kiba doing?"

"Do you want to hear about his favorite position?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened and he paled in record time. Even the hand holding onto the mug of coffee began to tremble minutely.

Shikaku stopped himself from smirking at the clear trauma he had just caused in his only child. He had been patient for a whole week now- a week in which various documents 'disappeared', only to reappear in bathrooms, storage lockers, and even the _safe_ at one point. He was sure that he was well within his right to be done with his child.

"You wouldn't." He had to give it to his son, his voice only quivered a little bit.

He wasn't able to stop the smirk now; he had his son right where he wanted him. "Are you really willing to go through with that gamble, son?" He quirked a challenging eyebrow and Shikamaru gulped in anxiety. "Well, one of his favorite kinks to play out in the bedroom is-"

"Stop! Stop! The documents are in your desk, in the locked cabinet!"

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Shikamaru glared at him with pure venom in his eyes. "Why can't you be normal and go through a middle aged crisis with an eighteen year old bimbo?"

"Because I'm currently enjoying your best friend's ass."

"Ah!"

Shikaku walked away as his son began to scream about wishing to have been killed the very second he found out his best friend and father were an item. Even though he knew it was childish, Shikaku was sure that Shikamaru would finally stop with so much nonsense now that he had been thoroughly traumatized... Which wasn't even _close_ to what Shikaku was willing to tell him if he continued with this pettiness.

 _"Shikaku? Are you there? What's that I heard about my ass?"_ Kiba called from the phone and Shikaku placed the device back near his ear to talk to him.

"Just traumatizing your best friend."

 _"Is he still hiding shit from you?"_

"Of course he was. But I think the mental image I just gave him will be enough to deter him from any further stupidity." He was sure he should have felt even the tiniest bit of _guilt_ for having done such a thing to his child. But all he could truly feel was amusement.

 _"Ooh, did you tell him about how you like to bend me over and make me beg? That's gotta be one of my favorite things for you to do."_

How Kiba was able to speak so casually about such a topic still didn't make much sense to Shikaku. But he had learned over their time together that there were only a handful of things that made Kiba feel embarrassed and most things that dealt with sex did not fall into that category.

"Not yet. But if he keeps on like he's been, I will make sure to even let him know what you like for me to do when you're bent over and handcuffed."

 _"Ah! Shikaku, now I wanna do it!"_

The man chuckled as he reentered his office and made a beeline for his desk to find the notes. Just as Shikamaru had shouted out, he found them inside of his locked drawer... which had been left unlocked after Shikamaru had opened it to leave the pieces of paper within.

He loved his son, he really did... He needed to remind himself about this if he wanted to keep himself from going insane.

 _"Well, now that you've revved me up, I guess I've gotta tell you about who I just ran into so I can distract myself."_

"Hmm? Who'd you run into?"

He picked up the pieces of paper and began to read over them. Once he was finished, he nodded to himself and continued coming up with a game-plan to follow on the day of the surgery.

They had already decided on a day for a follow up assessment just in case the patient wished to back out of the surgery, but Shikaku completely believed that she wouldn't turn back now. If her back pains were truly bad enough to give her _spasms_ that left her in bed then she had all the right to want to get her breasts size reduced. Especially seeing how the surgeon had done a bang up job of fucking somehow fucking up her _assets_ to leave them pointing in separate directions.

Nipples were supposed to face straight. He could not fathom the idea of a licensed professional leaving a woman with such a problematic issue on her _chest_.

 _"The one and only Jiraiya!"_

Jiraiya? ... He'd heard that name before.

Pausing in his scribbles, Shikaku sucked at his teeth for a quiet moment. Then he dared, "Isn't that the director whose movies you've watched at least two times each?"

 _"Precisely! In all of his white haired glory!"_

Shikaku frowned softly at the term but didn't say anything. Instead he wedged the phone against his shoulder again and continued to scribble down the game plan he had thought of for this patient. Once finished with this, he'd go ahead and tell Shikamaru to let the next patient-to-be come inside for their assessment.

 _"Apparently, he was here because some friend of his invited him to watch the auditions of the leading lady for that one show I wanted to audition for. Being a big name and all, he was asked to help out in picking the right chick."_

"That's interesting. Did you get his autograph?"

 _"I didn't have to!"_

Shikaku froze when he heard this, confused. "What? But I thought you were an-" He wasn't able to finish, seeing how Kiba interrupted him mid-sentence.

 _"He invited me out to lunch! Apparently, I caught his eye because I kind of look like the actor he'd imagined playing the leading male of the next big movie he's filming!"_

Kiba was always excited about everything, so it didn't surprise him that he was excited about the possibility of going for lunch with a big name indie director he just about idolized. But he could be unbelievably oblivious about people's true intentions when it mattered most. Shikaku had seen him laugh off flirting from people his age without even noticing that it was actual flirting- he had thought they were just joking around with him like any normal human being with a good sense of humor would do.

Shikaku had never had to worry about anyone flirting with him because, as Kiba had assured him time and time again, he wasn't interested in anyone his age or even _close_ to it. He'd always had a thing for older guy's, although he'd never fallen as hard as he had for Shikaku.

Jiraiya was older than him.

Jiraiya was a big name director that had just about offered Kiba job.

Jiraiya had invited his boyfriend out to lunch.

His blood ran cold and he wasn't able to form a single word. Kiba didn't seem to notice this, though, as he continued jabber in true glee.

 _"He went to get his wallet in the office and he'll be back in a few and I don't want to be rude by talking to you on the phone- you understand, right? So I'll call you once I've finished with this lunch. Hopefully, I'll finally have a role by the end of it!"_

Minutes passed after Kiba had ended the call, but Shikaku still had not pulled the phone away from his ear.

He blinked in fear, then shook his head and forced himself to trust his boyfriend.

Kiba was smart. He was loyal to a fault. And he would _never_ cheat on him.

... Cheating on him, though, would never occur if he broke up with him before he created any relationship with Jiraiya...

 _No! Stop! Kiba would never do that to you. He loves you too much._

With a heavy frown on his lips, Shikaku hoped that Kiba's love for him truly was enough to keep him from getting swept up in the dangerous monster that was the life of a movie star.

..~..~..

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Shikaku was accustomed to Kiba's hyperactive ramblings. Every single time they were together, they spent at least ten minutes just listening to Kiba recount the happenings of his day. The Nara, of course, was always happy to hear everything that his lover was willing to share about his personal life.

So, if he was usually more than willing to listen with a willing ear on a normal day... Why in the world was he feeling the heavy weight of dread clinging to his shoulders as he struggled to focus on his boyfriend's words?

"Tomorrow I'll have to go and practice with Mei, just to make sure we've got enough on-screen chemistry to actually work together." Kiba prattled as he pierced his fork through a piece of chicken, all the while sighing dramatically into the cup of water he held in his left hand. "Jiraiya's set us to go to his house so we don't have to worry about nosey paparazzi... But I think I'm kind of nervous about going there. I think it'd be like a museum with all of the amazing props he's kept over the years... What if I trip on anything?"

 _Jiraiya_.

Most of Kiba's words were muted and muffled... Except for that _name_.

Could he possibly be the cause of Shikaku's sour mood?

… No. That was preposterous. He had never even met the man Kiba had been working with for the past month. Because they had never met, there was really no concrete evidence to back up any feelings of disdain. Shikaku had no _reason_ to feel any kind of dislike towards the man that had offered his struggling lover a much-needed and very-gracious job.

Kiba was his boyfriend. Jiraiya was just his boyfriend's director. There was nothing more to it. Their relationship was purely professional and, because of this, there would not be any kind of disreputable behavior. Because there were no chances of it, there was no need for Shikaku to even _think_ about such a thing... Even though he was and he couldn't _stop_.

The man bit down a groan of frustration at his own inability to focus on his boyfriend... And the lack of control he had over his worry-filled thoughts.

He hated when he contemplated his life through too much contemplation. This particular flaw of his had bitten him in the ass one too many times... And he continued to allow himself to fall into the bad habit of _overthinking._

"Shiki? You okay?"

Shikaku hummed offhandedly before moving his gaze from their plate towards his lover. Because of this, he found Kiba's eyes narrowed and his lips pursed.

 _Damn_.

"Yeah, I'm fine... Just..." He breathed out, feeling his shoulders drop as the rest of his body sagged deeper into his chair. "Just thinking too much."

Kiba frowned, set down his utensils, propped his right elbow on the table, and nestled his cheek into the now raised hand. "You do that too often, babe. I love an intelligent man- don't get me wrong-, but sometimes you dig _too deep_ into your own head." Having said this, Kiba sighed and raised his left hand onto the table, so it could cover Shikaku's much larger right hand.

Before both hands touched, Shikaku felt his hand twitch. But he was able to calm himself down before Kiba felt him reacting to what was supposed to be a comforting action. "You've been thinking too much too often... Want to get anything off of your chest? I've been talking non-stop; how about you take the spotlight now?"

Shikaku took a moment to just _look_ at their hands.

Kiba's young yet calloused fingers were running over his much softer, yet much older own. There were so many things about their respective hands that contrasted _so starkly_...

What did Kiba even see in him?

With a heavy sigh, the older male pulled his hand away and crossed his arms over his chest. Then he looked away from Kiba, over to the clock that hung on the wall opposite the dining room table, and made a show of noticing what time it was.

He didn't even read the hands of the clock.

"It's just been busy at the office. It's nothing you have to worry about, really." Still, he closed his eyes and pushed his chair back with his legs. "It's pretty late. And I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to head up to bed now."

The plate he had ate from was still pretty filled with Kiba's stir-fry, but Shikaku couldn't force himself to eat. Not when he was so busy worrying over everything. A side-effect of over thinking- aside from all of the _other_ negatives- was an overwhelming lack of appetite.

Still, he picked up the plate and made his way back into his kitchen, where he dumped the food. Then he began to make his way up his home's staircase and towards the bedroom he now shared with his lover.

With a soft sigh, he once again began to wonder just what Kiba even _saw_ in him.

… Maybe this was all a game to the Inuzuka... Maybe Kiba just wanted to toy around with an old man's heart and have fun at his expense... Maybe his son's best friend just wanted to see how far he could push and pull until Shikaku finally _broke_.

"Hey, Shiki..."

There were hands on his waist, firm, yet gentle. The thumbs began to rub circles near his hips, almost by the base of his spine, and he'd be damned if that didn't feel good.

… When had his back started to hurt?

"Your whole body's extremely tense. How's about I give you a nice, relaxing massage?"

Shikaku found his steps wavering as Kiba pressed a chaste kiss into the side of his neck... And he couldn't help but sigh at the physical comfort his boyfriend was offering him.

"We can even have some _intimate_ alone time- it's been a while since we last did anything NC-17, babe."

He couldn't stop himself from smirking in amusement at the words... And he forced himself to take the bull by the horns and turn to his lover.

He may not know what Kiba had seen in him in the first place, but he _did_ know that Kiba loved it when he took charge. The younger male thoroughly enjoyed it when Shikaku made decisions for him. And this... whatever it had been that he'd been doing was certainly _not_ taking charge. He couldn't just allow his own self-doubts to strip him of his confidence.

Turning around, Shikaku slunk an arm around Kiba's back and pressed their lips together in a slow and deep kiss. When Kiba's tongue began to stroke at his bottom lip, though, he pulled away with a smirk.

"Let's take this to the bedroom."

He would _not_ allow his overthinking to complicate his relationship with this wonderful man.

* * *

He was in the office when he received the phone call.

Shikamaru had been whining about something or another about Ino and Chouji ganging up on him for some reason, but Shikaku had not been paying attention to his son. He loved his son with all of his heart, but even _Shikaku_ felt that he moaned and groaned about life a bit too much. Which, really, spoke volumes of Shikamaru's own ability to make even the best of situations look like the worst thing in the world. Yoshino had cited Shikaku's overly-pessimistic tendencies as one of the main reasons she did not see longevity in their marriage, after all.

Both Nara males had found themselves in the small staff area in the back off the doctor's office, where they had been eating their lunch. Shikamaru had whined while Shikaku had grunted around most pauses to make it seem as if he had been paying attention. Then his phone had rung and he had been afforded a great excuse to ignore his son... Well, to _continue_ ignoring his son.

Because of the boisterous ringtone, he had known who had been calling him before he had even checked his phone.

"What interesting news do you have for me now, love?" He said as soon as he pressed his phone to his ear, only to hear a breathless, somewhat dazed chuckle, from the other line.

 _"Wow, you_ are _a charmer."_

Immediately, Shikaku sat up and narrowed his eyes at the tone of voice he did _not_ know.

 _"I always thought the kid was making you sound better than you actually are, Mr. Nara, just to impress me. But that was quite the hello."_

"Who are you and where is Kiba?" Shikaku couldn't stop himself from growling, all sorts of worries beginning to fly through his mind at this stranger having Kiba's phone.

Shikamaru, from his side of the table, quirked an eyebrow in confusion. But Shikaku waved his son off and remained wholly focused on the phone call.

 _"No-nonsense, too... Geez, how'd the kid nab someone like you?"_ The person on the other line clicked his tongue before sighing. _"He's fine, just so you know. He's getting washed up at the moment after a long day of rehearsals, wardrobe changes, and shoots."_

Shikaku's frown deepened.

"Who are you?"

 _"Oh, silly me. I've always been bad at introductions."_ The man's voice became thick, almost syrupy... A tone very similar to the like a used car-salesman would adopt to seal a deal. _"The name's Jiraiya. I'm the mind behind your boyfriend's first big gig."_

So _this_ was what Jiraiya sounded like... _Dangerous_.

Beside himself, Shikaku breathed out a small sigh of relief.

Even though he didn't like Jiraiya, he knew that Kiba must not have kidnapped or injured if the man was being so talkative.

 _"Anyway, I'm calling you because I wanted to make sure that the kid's birthday really is on July eighth."_

Now _that_ was interesting.

Shifting in his seat, Shikaku grunted out, "It is. Why do you ask?"

 _"That's great!"_ The man cheered, causing Shikaku to pull the phone away from his ear at the sudden volume. When he returned it, it was to hear the man babbling rapidly, _"That's the same day we're supposed to premiere our movie at this one film festival- a new one, granted, but a rather interesting looking one at that! Hey, are you free on that day? I'm thinking of surprising the kid with you and that best friend of his. It's a great idea, really, and I'm sure it'll make him smile. He'll be expecting a movie premiere, only to be shocked when he finds out it's a double feature: premiere and surprise birthday party!"_

Shikaku blinked at what he had just heard... And remained wholly stunned.

"You... Want to surprise Kiba for his birthday?"

 _"That I do."_ Jiraiya's voice seemed to sober up at this point, taking on a more serious edge. _"This kid's been a dream to work with from day one. Bright-eyed and dumb as he is, he's got one of the best work ethics I've seen in my whole career. And I've been around for a while now."_ The other man sighed now, _"He told me about how hard it's been for him to get a chance at acting and I don't want him to give up. So I thought that maybe this would help him keep that spark of his alive."_

That was incredibly selfless of the director.

 _"So, what do you say? Wanna help out the cast surprise this kid?"_

Shikaku's throat tightened suddenly.

Jiraiya liked Kiba enough to want to keep his love for acting alive... And was thoughtful enough to call his boyfriend to ask for his aid.

Shakily, the Nara agreed.

 _"Great! I'm going to record your number on my phone and I'll send you a message with some more details in a week or so. And, don't worry, I'm going to make sure Kiba knows nothing about what we're planning! This'll be a magnificent shock for him!"_

Shikaku nodded mutely and ended the call... Only to then notice that he had never formally bid Jiraiya his goodbye.

With a soft curse, the man pocketed his phone and stood up from the table.

He didn't bother answering any of Shikamaru's questions. Instead he made his way towards his office to find the number of the restaurant he had called a day before to make dinner reservations for a surprise birthday dinner for Kiba.

… In a way, he was angry that his own plans for Kiba's birthday were ruined. But, in all honesty, he was more angry at himself for having forgotten that Kiba's big film premiere was set for the day of his birthday.

..~..~..

Please review and tell me what you thought! One more chapter and this short story is officially completed!


	6. Chapter 6

Jiraiya was as loud and annoying in person as he had been on the phone. If anything, he was _even more_ boisterous than he had been while on the phone, and his personality had been more than clear then.

With a small sigh, Shikaku raised his glass to his lips and took a sip of his Irish Coffee. Even though it was sweeter than what he usually liked, it gave him an excuse to not answer Jiraiya's rather intrusive question as soon as he had finished asking it.

The man, in either a brilliant showcase of disregard for Shikaku's reluctance to be talking to him or stupid obliviousness to said attitude, was actually engaging in a full conversation with him. While Kiba cheered and rejoiced at having all of his closest friends and castmates regaling him in praise over his amazing acting in the movie that had premiered only three hours ago, Shikaku was stuck with the annoying mouth breather that had directed and written said movie.

Shikaku was man enough to admit that the movie had been breathtaking and the story had been marvelous. But he was also honest with himself- and Jiraiya was the worst kind of company to have on a night like this.

"Oh, come on, it can't be some great big secret! And if it is, I promise I won't call the cops."

Once he had finished taking a sip that wouldn't seem too abnormal, Shikaku looked Jiraiya directly in the eyes with the most serious face he could muster, "Do you have any scars that have marred your very existence? Would you ever be comfortable talking about those to a complete stranger?"

For a couple of seconds, Shikaku was allowed a glimpse at paradise because Jiraiya actually _thought about his answer_. Then the illusion shattered when shrugged and spoke, "Well, yeah, but they're not on my face. It's like you obligated to tell the world when it's so public, don't you think?"

No, he didn't think so.

He stopped himself just shy of glaring at Jiraiya- instead he settled his face into an irritated frown and answered the idiot's initial question. "My father was both a martial artist and a diagnosed schizophrenic- the kind that heard holy voices that told him all about divine catastrophes that would occur if he didn't listen. He was also pretty big on creating his own version of odd weapons- specifically modifications of a thing called the _Tekko-kagi_ Claws."

Jiraiya's face twisted into a look of pure shock and apparent disgust.

"I'm sure you can piece the story together if you really put yourself up to it."

"Shit... I'm... I had no..." For the first time since Shikaku had first the man with one of the biggest ego's he had ever met, he found Jiraiya at a complete loss for words.

Good.

His past didn't hurt him much anymore. But the best way to silence someone that pestered him about his facial scars, he had come to learn, was to tell the flat truth with only detachment. In the past, he had created pure fabrications to soften the blow and not have to feel any pity from anyone around him. But he didn't care much for many opinions anymore. And he had already come to terms with his father's actions. He felt no harm upon using this tactic to get those annoyances to shut up.

"You know, that sounds like a swell idea for a movie."

Immediately, Shikaku's heart tightened and he struggled to maintain his composure of seeming detached. It took him a second, but he soon quirked an eyebrow in unamused question. And when he spoke, it was in a complete deadpan.

"Seriously?"

Jiraiya chuckled nervously and raised his glass of wine to his lips.

With a disbelieving shake of his head, Shikaku looked away from the white haired embarrassment and tried to find his boyfriend among the party goers.

Even though Jiraiya had initially only spoken about inviting him and Shikamaru, it seemed that he had undergone a change of heart at some point. All of Kiba's and Shikamaru's best friends from childhood had been invited to the party, along with their parents. Hana and Tsume were both here as well, and while the former looked more than happy to be here, the latter seemed extremely uncomfortable in the tight dress she was wearing and all the attention it was garnering for her.

Shikaku felt for Tsume, he really did. During his time in Florida, she had let him know that she wasn't interested in dating anyone else ever again after her husband had passed. But here there were countless of men- and some women- fawning over her... Well... _Everything._ Tsume Inuzuka was a looker in that red dress. She truly was.

Over by the refreshments table, Shikaku could see Ino berating on his son for some reason. Inoichi was looming near them, but Choza was currently walking up to the blonde to, most probably, pull him away from their children. And Chouji was dancing with a rather beautiful dark skinned woman on the dance floor.

Oh... There he was.

Shikaku couldn't stop himself from smiling when he saw Kiba dancing beside Chouji and his date. He currently had his arms around his childhood 'bro-est friend', Naruto, while the blonde laughed himself silly. His boyfriend looked like he was having the time of his life... _Without him_.

His smile slowly began to fade.

Kiba was still _so young_. And he was _so old_.

He flinched involuntarily when a large hand landed on his shoulder. And when looked at it, then up at the arm it was connected to, and finally the body that those two belonged to, he found Jiraiya smiling softly at him.

"You know that kid thinks the sun, stars, moon, earth, and heavens about you, right? Not one day passed during his time working for me that he didn't say _something_ about how great a boyfriend you are. I think I started to fall in love with you a bit from how great he talked about you." Jiraiya's eyes, interestingly enough, looked like they were hiding _intelligent_ _thought_. "You should ask him for a dance at the end of the night. I know the deejay, we can play you both something nice."

Shikaku flat out glared at the man now, "I don't dance." He stated simply, then turned back to look at his lover.

From Naruto, he had found his way into the arms of the blonde's girlfriend- Sakura, he believed. She was one of the more intriguing of Kiba's colorful group of friends- a bodybuilder with pink hair was sure to stand out, even within this assortment of interesting young adults. They were both laughing as the woman's arms wrapped around the aspiring actor to pick him up and twirl him around.

Jiraiya sighed from beside him. "Man, you've got jealousy written all over you. You're lucky Kiba's so thickheaded right now." He stood up from his chair with a groan, stretching his back before offering his final words, "Don't be an idiot and keep whatever's bothering you bottled up. Talk to him. Take this from the guy that once fell in love and lost her because of refusing to communicate- keeping everything to yourself only leaves you isolated."

The words struck his heart immediately.

Shikaku loathed the fact that Jiraiya could sound so smart, even after getting to know how truly idiotic he could be.

Heh... Somehow like Kiba, once you got to know him...

 _Dammit_.

* * *

They were finally alone. It was four in the morning, they were both extremely tired, and Kiba wanted nothing more than to curl up on their luxurious hotel bed and fall asleep.

But Shikaku needed to tell him the truth. Either he did it now that he was emboldened by alcohol or never.

The balcony was cool at this ungodly hour and he leaned against the ceramic piece of architecture as he began to construct his confessions to Kiba.

"Well, what'd you wanna tell me, Shiki? You know I love you and your weird ways, but four in the morning after a huge weekend of busy work is pushing it, love." Kiba yawned behind him, and his tone was lighthearted even with the harshness his words undoubtedly tried to emulate.

Shikaku took a steadying breath- trying to calm his beating heart as he prepared himself for everything he was about to say.

Undoubtedly, this would be a heavy conversation- the kind that was best to have with a clear head at a reasonable hour. But... Well... Jiraiya was correct. He needed to get this off his chest. It had been consuming him for _so long_.

He breathed out, closed his eyes, and began to speak.

Once the floodgates opened, it was impossible to stop himself. He said _everything._

"I don't want you to get famous. I know it's selfish and wrong- but... I don't want anyone to discover your talents. I don't want anyone to see how great you are. I don't want anyone to see how amazing of a person you are and fall in love with you- I don't care if it's all acting and you're not the person they see... I don't want any part of who you are to be put on show for the whole world." He confessed, keeping his eyes on the far-away mountains that surrounded the hotel they were within.

How could he look at Kiba when he was confessing to such _horrible_ things? How could he look at the man he knew was going to become his ex-boyfriend as soon as he had finished speaking?

Even though he knew this would amount only to his ruin, he needed to get everything off his chest. It would hurt in a couple of minutes, but for now... For now, he could find some freedom in admitting to his deepest wishes.

"I want to keep you far away from everything that is Hollywood. I want you to stay far away from the fast lane that has ruined the lives of _so many people_. I don't want you to be part of any films that aren't meant to be seen by only a few curious people visiting garage sales. I don't want you anywhere _near_ Jiraiya ever again. I don't want your name to be more than an extra in a prime-time local TV show. I want to be selfish, keep you away from all that danger, and to stay with only me."

Closing his eyes, his grip on the balcony tightened until his knuckles hurt.

"I... I want you to stay with me and live a boring life where we get married in front of only our closest friends and no one aside from us _cares_ about it... I want us to grow old together and never have to worry about possible public reactions to where we go or what we do with our lives. I want you to stay with me for the rest of our lives and never to leave me. I want you to never have access to anybody better than me. I want-"

Kiba spoke up, then, to interrupt him. "That's impossible. That... Shikaku, that will _never_ happen."

With a great sadness weighing on his heart, Shikaku lowered his head. Tears began to sting at his eyes, but he would not allow himself to cry. He had cried when Yoshino left him and he had promised himself he would never allow himself such vulnerability ever again.

He had said his full name. _Not_ _Shiki_.

"I would never have access to anybody better than you because you're already perfect. No one else will ever be as perfect as you. So... That last bit... Well, out of everything you said, that's the only thing I can tell you with complete certainty will never happen if I keep on acting."

Shikaku's brain short circuited for a moment.

Then there was a hand on his hip, an arm around his waist, and a solid body hugging into his side.

"But a quiet wedding, growing old together, only caring about ourselves and not thinking about anyone else... Well, Shiki, I don't see why any of that can't happen even if I get a teensy-bit famous." Kiba stunned him with these words.

But he stunned him further when he pushed his way in between Shikaku and the balcony and wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Look at me, Shikaku."

He didn't want to. But he couldn't deny Kiba. So he opened his eyes and found Kiba smirking softly up at him, "Y'know, I had wondered where Shikamaru's selfishness had come from. 'Cause it's certainly not from Yoshino- but it seems I figured it out."

"Kiba-" He tried to say, only to be silenced by a swift kiss.

"Shut up," Kiba mumbled against his lips. "It's my turn."

With a small sigh, Shikaku allowed himself to melt into the kiss. When Kiba pulled away, his own lips followed for a couple of inches before he stopped himself.

Kiba closed his eyes and his lips lost their smile, "It's a big change- me actually becoming something more than a nobody in Hollywood. I get that. I really do. But... Shiki, this has been my dream from childhood. And I've finally got a chance. I love you, but you can't expect me to give up on a dream to please you."

Shikaku breathed out heavily. "I... I know."

It was coming now, he knew. This was the part where Kiba told him to leave the room and never come back. He had pulled him into a final kiss as a taunt- pulled at his heartstrings one final time for the heck of it.

"And you've got a pretty close-minded way of seeing Hollywood. Sure, lots of people get screwed over, but those are the people that don't have levelheaded husbands that bring them back to Earth and far away from the fame machine."

"Yeah... But neither do you, Kiba. And I worry because I-"

Kiba slapped a hand onto his mouth to silence him this time around.

Shikaku narrowed his eyes at the smirk playing on the younger male's lips.

"So, you agree with me. There's only one way to avoid your problem and save me from Hollywood's insanity: we've got to get married."

Shikaku blinked.

Then he blinked again.

And after one final blink, he quirked an eyebrow.

Kiba smiled broadly and took his hand off of his boyfriend's mouth and back on his neck. "I love you, you love me, why don't we make ourselves one nice family and finish pissing Shikamaru off for good. I'll legally be his dad and he won't be able to say anything about it."

Shikaku frowned, "I lay my heart out for you on a platter... I confess my deepest fears and wants... And you make a joke out of me?"

"Not at all." Kiba smiled, and soon shrugged. "I was planning on going ring shopping once we got back home, then plan a huge party, seeing how you helped Jiraiya plan this whole party and even managed to get my favorite type of inhuman cake here- thought I could return the favor by being the one to propose."

Shikaku's eyes narrowed further, "Kiba, I'm being serious. I don't want you out there. I want to be selfish."

Kiba placed a soft kiss on his neck, right below his Adam's apple, before he bit that very spot. "I want to be selfish too. Now, you were honest and selfish, so I'll play the game too: Honestly, if it were up to me, once I hit it big, you'd stop working. Once I was able to support us both, you'd stop working at the clinic and you'd retire. You'd lounge around the house all day, only moving to work out to keep up your amazing physique, or to cook for me. You'd be naked on our bed by the time I came home and we'd have sex every night- every morning too, hopefully, before I left for work. If my gig made me travel, you'd come along with me and you wouldn't object over leaving your home at all."

He paused in his own confession to lap softly at the spot he had bitten, leaving Shikaku feeling oddly aroused and embarrassed at the same time. He may have been more than thirty years old, but Kiba had a knack for making him feel novelty emotions at the same time.

"If I could, I'd buy you only the finest clothes and you'd never have to work ever again. You'd never have to meet another bothersome patient and you would be happy everywhere we went. You'd become best buddies with Jiraiya and you'd work together on scripts because you _love_ stories, you can't tell me you don't, and we'd become the most powerful screen-writing-slash-acting duo in Hollywood. And at the end of the year, come Christmas, we'd take vacations in Florida with my family and yours and we'd maybe become foster parents to care for some at risk kids during our down time because even though you think you're too old to raise a child, I at least want a distant experience of it."

Once he had finished saying this, he lowered his arms to wrap around Shikaku's back and pulled him into a hug, burrowing his head into his boyfriend's shoulder.

"And it's precisely because I want all these things with you that I understand what you're saying. I'm selfish too, Shiki. And I know that it would be unfair to force anything oo life-changing I want unto you. So I'm going to settle for something only moderately life-changing: marry me." He paused for a moment, then lifted his head to look at him in the eyes. "With the added stipulation that from now one you confess to me your selfish wants at least once a month."

Shikaku stared at him in nothing short of disbelief.

"So, what do you say, love? Marry me? I'm thinking about a quiet wedding in your magnificent backyard with my family, your family, some of our friends, and possibly- but _only_ possibly- a peanut butter cake."

Kiba... Was absurd.

So, this shouldn't surprise Shikaku at all.

"Are you... Are you sure you would want such a drastic change? I mean, it's one thing for us to date, but being married to me... Kiba, you'd be stuck with me. And we've only really known each other for half a year. And-"

"True. But I love you so much that I want you stuck with me for the rest of my life. And, quite frankly, that should tell you everything about how much I love you. I mean, you're _Shikamaru's_ father. Marrying you means I'm stuck with that problem child for the rest of my life."

Kiba smiled.

Shikaku smiled back.

Kiba's hands ran up his back and pushed his shoulders down, forcing him to lean down into a kiss.

"I think the only other thing we have to discuss now is whether you'll become Mr. Shikaku Inuzuka or I'll become Mr. Kiba Nara." Kiba whispered as he brushed their lips together, "I like the ring to the both of them, I'll be honest."

Shikaku smiled and whispered back, "As a selfish man, I would rather you take on my last name."

"Naturally."

Shikaku chuckled, "Naturally."

They finally kissed after that. And it was the best kiss they had ever shared... _For now_.

~..~..~

And that is the official end to this story! Thank you all so much for following and reading this story! It took me a while, but I completed it!

I hope you all enjoyed this! Please review and share all your thoughts.


End file.
